1948 London

Venue & Scientific Programme

The 1948 BAUS Annual Scientific Meeting meeting was held from 24 to 27 June 1948 at the Royal College Surgeons of England, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London but also incorporated a meeting of the Section of Urology at the Royal Society of Medicine on Thursday 24 June 1948, with presentations on “Surgery of Urethral Stricture”.

Demonstrations and Visits

On Friday 25 June 1948, there were operating sessions held at various London Hospitals; details are listed below:

ALL SAINTS HOSPITAL

Transplantation of a ureter into vesical exstrophy in a 12-month old child
Two Millin retropubic prostatectomies
Millin sling for stress incontinence
(all by Mr Terence Millin, pictured left)

THE ROYAL NORTHERN HOSPITAL

The Annual Dinner of the Urology Section of the RSM, which the BAUS delegates attended, was held on Thursday 24 June 1948. The social programme was reported (somewhat tongue in cheek: Ed.) in the British Journal of Urology later that year:

“... BUFFET DANCE AT THE DORCHESTER

On Friday evening, June 25, a most successful Buffet Dance was held at the Dorchester Hotel. Mr and Mrs Morson received the guests and, later, the former welcomed our visitors from abroad in a speech praising Australian ham, and recommending Spain for a holiday; while Mr Riches, who has admirably shouldered the spade-work of the Association, wished his successor, Mr Robinson, good luck. The numbers present were well suited to the size of the room ; so, without dilating further on this, one may say that there was no sense of constriction; on the contrary, the Terpsichorean flow was free and unobstructed, and several experts could be admired performing evolutionary "tours de maitre". This was altogether a very enjoyable occasion. The buffet was supplemented by a generous gift from the Australian members, to whom the warm thanks of the Association are due.

DINNER AT THE ZOO

On Saturday June 26th, about 90 members and their friends dined in the Fellows’ Restaurant at the Zoo. Afterwards, the gardens and some of the houses were open, and we had the pleasure and privilege of a personally conducted tour by Dr Hindle, the scientific adviser, who appeared to know all the monkeys by their Christian names and to be well known by them in return. Having with difficulty enticed our members from the monkey house, we found it impossible to get them out of the aquarium before closing time. With the sea-water and tropical sections added to the original fresh-water hall, it forms a most beautiful and fascinating exhibition, and we all appreciated the ability to enjoy it in comfort without the usual crowds. Dr Hindle showed us the back-stage arrangements and explained the methods used for filtering the water and maintaining its correct temperature. The whole evening was voted a great success.

THAMES TRIP

Remembering a glorious trip down the Clyde last year, the London Section was conscious of being on "its mettle" as BAUS boarded the PS O(r)ganic at Westminster Bridge on Sunday June 27. There were some seventy of us, including many from Scotland and Continental visitors and the sun smiled upon us all day. Our launch went up stream and showed off the Houses of Parliament most effectively - the building presented an unscathed scene of noble masonry. We turned back under Westminster Bridge on our twenty-five mile trip down the Estuary, noting the dome-capped, simple grandeur of the Shell building which quite dwarfs the ancient Tower of London a little farther down the river. The charm of the latter remains, however, perhaps supreme among the group of magnificent buildings, including the neighbouring Tower Bridge, under which we next passed from the Pool of London. The tide was low and the quay sides rose hiding the inner docks, where the great vessels are berthed. The loud-speaker gave us thrilling bits of information about the sights new and historical, that line the banks endlessly on the trip. Our Editor and I were standing "on the bridge" eagerly engulfing every anecdote. He suddenly interjected anti-climax, "Sounds as if it is coming from a cracked record!" Imagine the feelings of the rest of us who had noticed that our Captain was combining duties "at the wheel" with holding the microphone stealthily to his mouth. It was good fun listening while Winsbury-White manoeuvred to soothe the wounded feelings of our Captain. So mirth mingled with delight throughout the day. At Wapping, gathered on the steps of the quay beside the Prospect of Whitby, sat the half-naked members of the Thames Canoeing Club about to enjoy their Annual Luncheon. This was one of many old haunts of smugglers pointed out to us. Soon our attention was diverted from commerce and history to that pride of the Estuary - the Thames barge - which hove in sight on approaching Greenwich. The stately sheets of bright brown canvas moving across the background of cumuli and blue sky was an arresting sight. Several were seen during the day - and so, as a fitting goal for the cruise, we reached those renowned survivors of the wooden walls of old England lying up by the quay at Deptford - the training ship HMS Worcester and - heroine of the Australian wheat trade - the three-masted barque, Cutty Sark. Speculating how many more miles of wharves and mercantile buildings extended down the Estuary, we turned back for Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum. The wind was against us, so we "closed hatches" and enjoyed the spray over the bows (and BAUS). We walked with pride among the noble array of Classical buildings that house the Maritime exhibits, and enjoyed glimpses that were all too fleeting of the objets d’art. How fitting for BAUS to finish its London Session with "the Nelson Touch" - to see the Rear Admiral in portraits, and features neither serene nor benign, but forceful and resolute. We saw the coat with its folded sleeve, his medals, and even the four-poster bed and models of the "Victory". What a thrilling sight for Britons! At 6 p.m. we drew up at Westminster Pier, sorry to part and conscious of a tremendous debt of gratitude to those who had conceived and arranged so much to edify and inspire us as Surgeons and to delight our senses as citizens.

BAUS seemed to have excelled itself in the grand programme of the 1948 Annual Meeting. All went without a hitch as does our high praise to Morson and Riches, Engineers-in-Chief ..."